Reading response #10 - Assignment Example

Reading Response #10 It is a well known fact that the learning of languages is an acquired skill. Being an acquired skill, there are various methodsby which a child can learn about languages. Before I read the article “Language Aptitude” by Peter Skehan, I was of the opinion that language learning is something that a child absorbs merely through observation, repetition, and parental influence. However, because children often find themselves uprooted from their familial roots at an early age due to the immigration of their immediate family members, the idea that language is merely an absorbed trait is thrown out the window.

Skehan clearly explains that it is not impossible for children to become native speakers of a language that they would have considered as foreign in their homeland. Provided the child arrives before the age of 12 in the new country, his brain is still young and flexible enough to absorb the new language to the point where he will be able to pass for a native speaker. However, unlike Skehan, I do not believe that language learning can be measured by variables and testing methods. The reason I disagree with him is because the tests being conducted in order to gain an understanding of the way a child learns a language is quite outdated and not truly applicable in the modern educational system of the 21st century.

Unlike decades past, ESL learners now have more opportunities for exposure to a new language that is not limited to the school setting. In fact, these language learners, thanks to the advent of the internet and social media, oftentimes find themselves already exposed to and learning a new language long before they need to formally need to learn the new language. Ema Ushioda and Zoltan Dorneye actually built a solid case for motivation as being a primary reason behind second language acquisition.

For most adult English language learners, they only push themselves to learn the new language and work towards a proficiency in the English language because their survival depends upon it. Migrating a new country and being unable to communicate their thoughts and needs to those beyond their immediate family or community members almost certainly ensures that they will fail to succeed in the new life that they have chosen for themselves. As such, I would have to say that my exposure to L2 learners has proven that survival is a great motivation for them to succeed in acquiring their new language skills.

Succeeding in learning the second language almost always proves to have a positive social, psychological, behavioral and cultural effect on the person. By widening his or her horizons through the acquisition of a new language, he allows himself room for growth and development on a personal and professional basis. From my personal experience, I would have to say that the reason that Arabic students tend to be held back from learning a new language has everything to do with the fact that the educational system of Saudi was closed off from exterior influences for a very long period of time.

It was not truly necessary for them to learn another language because going overseas for study or work was not really a practice of the citizens of the land in the past. However, the Saudi educational system is undergoing rapid changes and I fully expect that lessons in the English language will eventually become a regular part of the school curriculum, thus helping the Arab students to become more competitive in the field of education and international work force in the future.